It is very common in medicine today to use x-rays for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. While these x-rays serve a beneficial medical purpose, they can also have harmful side effects for both the patient to whom the x-rays are directed and the medical workers who must administer x-rays on a day-to-day basis.
There have been a number of previous attempts to mitigate the harmful effects of x-rays through the design of radiopaque protective garments. Typically, these radiopaque garments consist of a stiff material, such as rubber, impregnated by lead or some other heavy metal which is capable of blocking x-rays. Examples of lead impregnated radiopaque garments can be found in Holland's U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,799, Whittaker's U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,749, Leguillon's U.S. Pat. No. 3,045,121, Via's U.S. Pat. No. 3,569,713 and Still's U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,047.
While the lead filled prior art garments provide a good measure of protection against the harmful effects of x-rays, these prior art garments are often heavy, stiff, expensive, bulky and lacking in breathability. As such, these garments are often uncomfortable, cumbersome and restrictive. Also, there are sterility issues with these prior art garments because they are typically too bulky and expensive to dispose of after each use.